Potted plant and knick-knack stand

ABSTRACT

A potted plant and knick-knack stand including an elongated upright main support column, a lower end of which receives vertical support from a support surface. A plurality of generally horizontally disposed potted plant and knick-knack support plates are each connected at a distal end of, and laterally spaced from the support column by, an elongated arm each having a collar connected at a proximal end thereof for slidable support on the support column. Each support member is disposed at a different height above the support surface in a staggerable fashion. The support members at the lowest height include downwardly extending leveling legs for adjustably establishing and maintaining the upright orientation of the support column.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to support structures for potted plants and knick-knacks for display purposes and more particularly for an upright potted plant and knick-knack stand, which is staggerable and self-supporting atop uneven support surfaces.

2. Description of Related Art

Prior art discloses a myriad of knick-knack and potted plant holders for display purposes as follows:

-   -   U.S. Pat. Des. 331,670 Soucy, et al.     -   U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,286 Allison, Ill.     -   U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,377 Hetu     -   U.S. Pat. No. 6,983,561 Warren     -   U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,641 Penrod     -   U.S. Pat. Des. 247,937 Dilyard     -   U.S. Pat. Des. 435,177 Buell, et al.     -   U.S. Pat. No. 699,154 DeForce     -   U.S. Pat. Des. 345,871 Anderson     -   U.S. Pat. Des. 245,131 Johnsson     -   U.S. Pat. No. 37,070 Crawford     -   U.S. Pat. Des. 244,571 Cowan, Jr.     -   U.S. Pat. No. 1,797,077 Dew, et al.

U.S. Pat. No. 37,070 to Crawford discloses a flower stand capable of supporting potted plants which can be arranged in any desired position, independent of the other and made self-sustaining. A similar flower stand is taught by DeForce in U.S. Pat. No. 699,154 with a feature to draw off excess water.

Allison discloses a rack for display of flowerpots including arms extending from a central shaft in a staggered fashion including disc-shaped bases on the distal ends in U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,286. A design patent disclosing a similar adjustable plant stand is taught by Soucy in Des. 331,670 and Buell, et al. teaches the design of a plant stand in U.S. Des. 435,177.

However, these prior art devices must typically rely upon other means for supporting them and additionally, are incapable of dealing with uneven floor or support surfaces atop which the device is intended to be positioned.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to a potted plant and knick-knack stand including an elongated upright main support column, a lower end of which receives vertical support from a support surface. A plurality of generally horizontally disposed potted plant and knick-knack support members are each connected at a distal end of, and laterally spaced from the support column by, an elongated arm each having a collar connected at a proximal end thereof for slidable support on the support column. Each support member is disposed at a different height above the support surface in a staggerable fashion. The support members at the lowest height include downwardly extending leveling legs for adjustably establishing and maintaining the upright orientation of the support column.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an upright potted plant and knick-knack support stand which will support and display a variety of such items without the need for additional support structure.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a high degree of creative versatility for displaying potted plants and knick-knacks on an upright support stand.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an easily shippable and assemblable upright potted plant and knick-knack support stand.

And yet another object of this invention is to provide an upright potted plant and knick-knack support stand which has a broad variety of selectable assembly arrangements for added individuality and display appearances.

Still another object of this invention is to eliminate the need for the additional support stand components to an upright potted plant and knick-knack stand.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of FIG. 2 in a slightly modified orientation.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of another embodiment of the invention positioned atop an irregular floor surface.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of an adjustable leg connected beneath a support plate.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of another aspect of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of yet another embodiment of the invention depicting a variety of support plate configurations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, and firstly to FIGS. 1 and 2, one embodiment of the invention (which is the preferred embodiment) is shown generally at numeral 10 and includes an elongated upright cylindrical support tube 12 formed of hollow aluminum tubing having an outside diameter of approximately 3″ and an inside diameter of approximately 2½″. This embodiment 10 further includes a plurality of generally horizontally oriented potted plant and knick-knack support members or plates 14, 18, 22, 28, 34 and 38. Each of these disc-shaped support plates are adjustably staggerably connected about the upright main support column 12 at a variety of different heights above a support surface by the corresponding elongated support arms shown typically at 26, each of which is rigidly connected to a support collar 16, 20, 24, 30, 36 and 40. Each of these collars is slidably engagable over the support column 12, rendering each of the support plates 14, 18, 22, 28, 34 and 38 pivotally positionable 360° about the upright axis A of the support column 12 in the direction of the corresponding arrows.

After the top support member 38 has been slidably positioned over the support column 12 as seen in FIG. 2, a tubular spacer 42 is slidably engagable thereover to finish off the collective continuous outer cylindrical surface of the support collars 16, 20, 24, or 30, 36 and 40.

The support column 12 is itself supported atop a support surface at its lower end 12 a. To maintain lateral stability and orientation of the stand 10 or 10 a, at least three of the lowest of the support members 14, 18 and 22 include downwardly extending leveling legs 46, 48 and 50. Each of these legs 46, 48 and 50, which are releasably attachable, are adjustable in overall length such that the lower contact pads 46 a, 48 a and 50 a may make evenly pressured contact against the support surface as the support column 12 is oriented thereby into a preferably true upright orientation. With each of the support plates 14, 18 and 22 rotationally oriented so that their corresponding arms shown typically at 26 do not lie in a vertical plane, an important three-point leveling and support aspect of this invention is achieved.

Details of a typical leveling leg 82 are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 wherein a turnbuckle 88 is rotated to effect elongation or shortening of the spacing between the support plate 80 and the lower contact pad 84, the support plate 80 being connected by elongated arm 86 around the upright support column as previously described.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an embodiment of the invention shown generally at 50 is adapted to be leveled and securely positioned and held atop an uneven support or floor surface such as might be found in a decorative multi-level area inside of a home or office. In this embodiment 50, an upright support column 52 is provided which receives support at its lower end 52 a atop support surface D, while support plates 54, 62 and 70 each connected by elongated arms 58, 66 and 74, respectively, are themselves supportively connected at their proximal ends to collars 56, 64 and 72.

Elongated, adjustable in length leveling legs 60, 68 and 76 are connected as by assembly to and downwardly extending from beneath the corresponding support plates 54, 62 and 70. By selecting a nominal length for each of these leveling legs 60, 68 and 76 and then by further adjustment as described in FIGS. 4 and 5, an upright orientation of the support column 52 is achieved and maintained by this arrangement. Leveling leg 60 supports the support plate 56 atop support surface B; leveling leg 68 supports the support member 62 atop support surface C; while leveling leg 76 supports the support member 70 atop support surface D. Again, with these support arms 58, 66 and 74 aligned by rotation about the upright axis of support column 52 as described in FIG. 1, a three-point adjustment and support arrangement is achieved for the stand 50.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, another aspect of the invention is there shown generally at numeral 90 and represents an upper extension for the previously described embodiment. This aspect 90 includes a support column 92 formed of cylindrical aluminum tubing and a plurality of support plate arrays 98, 102, 106 and 110 each of which include a support plate shown typically at 114 and connected in an array of three to a collar 100, 104, 108 and 112, respectively. An elongated tubular spacer 96 is positioned between the lower collar 100 and a base plate 94 to lift the entire arrangement to a desired height for aesthetic purposes. The elongated support arms shown typically at 116 are arcuately formed to give a unique appearance for the arrangement as seen particularly in FIG. 7. The lower column 96 is engagable with, and upwardly extending from, the embodiments previously described in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

Referring lastly to FIG. 8, another embodiment of the invention is there shown generally at numeral 120 having the structural features described in FIGS. 1 and 2. These features include an upright cylindrical support column 122 formed of tubular aluminum material and having a plurality of generally horizontally disposed support plates 124, 126, 128, 130,.132 and 134, each of which is interconnected and supported around the support column 122 by an elongated arm shown typically at 138 interconnected at the proximal end thereof to a support collar 136 which is slidably and rotatably engaged over the support column 122. Note in this embodiment 120, that a variety of non-disc shaped configurations of the support plates shown at 130, 132 and 134 may be incorporated into the design for aesthetic purposes.

By providing the invention in component form, selection of size, number, plate shape and spacers affords great marketing attractiveness.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what are conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is to be afforded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles. 

1. An upright potted plant and knick-knack stand comprising: an elongated upright main support column; a plurality of generally horizontally disposed potted plant and knick-knack support plates each connected at a distal end of, and laterally spaced from said support column by, an elongated support arm, each said support arm having a support collar connected at a proximal end thereof for slidable support on said support column; each of said support plates being selectively disposed at a different height above the support surface in a staggerable fashion, at least two of said support plates at the lowest heights above the support surface including downwardly extending leveling legs for adjustably establishing and maintaining the upright orientation of said support column.
 2. A plant and knick-knack stand as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: an elongated spacer slidably engagable over said support column and positioned between two of said collars for increasing the vertical spacing between the two adjacent said support plates.
 3. An upright potted plant and knick-knack stand comprising: an elongated upright cylindrical main support column, a lower end of which receives vertical support from a support surface; a plurality of generally horizontally disposed potted plant and knick-knack support plates each connected at a distal end of, and laterally spaced from said support column by, an elongated arm, each said arm having a tubular support collar connected at a proximal end thereof for slidable and rotatable supportive engagement over said support column; each of said support plates being selectively disposed at a different height above the support surface in a staggerable fashion, three of said support plates at the lowest heights along said support column including downwardly extending leveling legs for support surface engagement to adjustably establish and maintain the upright orientation of said support column.
 4. A plant and knick-knack stand as set forth in claim 3, further comprising: an elongated spacer slidably engagable over said support column and positioned between two of said collars for increasing the vertical spacing between the two adjacent said support platess.
 5. An upright stand for supporting and displaying potted plants and knick-knacks comprising: an elongated upright cylindrical main support column, a lower end of which receives vertical support from an uneven support surface; a plurality of generally horizontally disposed potted plant and knick-knack support plates connected at a distal end of, and laterally spaced from said support column by, an elongated arm, each said arm having a tubular support collar connected at a proximal end thereof for receiving sliding and rotational support on said support column, each of said support plates adapted to supportively receive a potted plant or knock-knack thereon; each of said support plates being disposed at a different height above the support surface in a rotationally staggerable fashion, a plurality of at least three of said support plates at the lowest heights above the support surface each including a downwardly extending leveling leg disposed from said support plate for providing an only means for adjustably establishing and maintaining the upright orientation of said support column.
 6. A plant and knick-knack stand as set forth in claim 5, further comprising: an elongated tubular spacer slidably engagable over said support column and positioned between two of said collars for increasing the vertical spacing between adjacent said support plates. 